The Education of Little Tree . Tucson Weekly . 02-09-98

The Education of Little Tree

DIRECTED BY: Richard Friedenberg

REVIEWED: 02-09-98

This sweet movie is a sort of Dances With Wolves for the under 12 set. Little Tree is an 8-year-old boy living in West Virginia in the 1930s. When his parents die, he's taken in by his grandparents, who teach him "the way," a new-agey, Native American sort of religion thing. As is fitting in movies for children, there's relatively little conflict, and problems which might cause anxiety in small viewers are quickly dispatched so that Little Tree and his Grandpa can again step out into the early morning light to have delightful adventures. One problem with The Education of Little Tree, though, is that all the caretaker adults die off, relentlessly, one after another, which even some of the grown-ups in the audience found distressing. If your kid was distraught when Bambi's mom died, he or she probably isn't ready for Little Tree.

--Richter

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The Education of Little Tree
The Education of Little Tree
The Education of Little Tree

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